Stetson University, Volusia Remembers Coalition To Hold Ceremony Honoring Lynching Victim

DeLand, FL -  As Black History Month comes to a close, a ceremony honoring lynching victim Lee Snell will be held virtually. Stetson University and the Volusia Remembers Coalition, an organization with the mission of remembering, acknowledging, and reflecting our history of racial terror, invite the community to attend a virtual soil collection ceremony via Zoom in honor of lynching victim Lee Snell on Saturday, Feb. 27 at noon. Snell was a Volusia County resident and victim of racial terror lynching on April 29, 1939. Learn more about the Volusia Remembers Coalition The soil collection ceremony includes learning about Snell’s life and tragic death will include leaders from across Volusia County as well as Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) representatives. Learn more about the Equal Justice Initiative Members of the Volusia Remembers Coalition will collect soil from the site where Snell was lynched more than 80 years ago. The Volusia County soil will be placed in two mason jars with Snell’s name and the date of his death. One of the jars will be displayed at EJI’s Legacy Museum. The second jar will be displayed at an appropriate location in Volusia County in the near future.  Snell’s name will be added to EJI’s Volusia County monument that honors three men who were also victims of racial terror lynching: Lee Bailey, Anthony Johnson, and Charles Harris. The Volusia County soil collection ceremony will honor Snell, whose death by lynching while in police custody, denied him due process and equal protection under the law. People who register for the Zoom event will get a confirmation email with the link and other information.